3. Cheapskate: I forgot my wallet!

Be that guy who always goes dutch on dates. Let your friends pick up the checks at restaurants. If need be, say you’ll get it next time, which is shorthand for “maybe, someday after I win the lottery.” When there are a group of people chipping in for a meal, make sure to just cover your meal (or close enough) without kicking in any money for the tip. Don’t chip in for the pizza, but always grab a slice. Say thank you for those gifts you get from your parents, your siblings, and your friends, but don’t ever return the favor. Just soak it all in until, when people think of the word “taker,” you’re the first person who comes to mind.

72 Comments, 24 Threads

1.
Captain B

Sadly it took me a very long time to learn it and accept it, but nice guys finish last. Even so, being the nice guy has some benefits.

My father was the nicest guy in the world – and he finished last at everything. His business partner lived like a king (and paid for his kid’s college) while we lived like church mice (and worse) because he wouldn’t be a jerk enough to fight for his fair share of the profits. He was loved, but it was hard on his family.

Amen to that. My brother is a sterling example. He’ll often go a long way to help people out but only if they show they’re willing to help themselves. He never expects anything in return but as he only helps people of character he tends to do come out way ahead.

That, I submit, is how one “networks” as opposed to schmoozing and brown-nosing. You don’t want to be in league with a lowlife, however superficially advantageous it might seem. Think about all those Friends of Bill who may have profited in the short-term (James McDougal? Webb Hubbell?) but who ended up in the pokey, in exile, or dying mysteriously.

#3 – I had a HS friend who made a huge income as a salesman. And would order terribly expensive things for us all, when we all mutually got together for dinner out, but somehow frequently “forgot his wallet.”

Not to worry, theres a clinical diagnosis and treatment for you should you ever get tired of self imposed defeat. Also, I hear that hypertension, though most aren’t attuned to its origins and reality, is a real life shortner!

We did pretty good in NC. Got a republican governor, got a republican controlled legislature, same as a lot of other states. Yes, we lost the presidency – but it’s giving us a chance to clear out deadwood now.

On the other hand, your guy now abso-frickin-lutely OWNS the economic mess we have and HE is who is getting blamed even now as people get ready for taxe season and start to get their first paychecks in 2013 – all while banging the drums for gun control.

Did they learn nothing from 1994?

Democrats may be an endangererd species come the midterms in 2014.

To paraphrase a comedian I heard once, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor with many many bombs. They were ecstatic over the success of their dropping many many bombs. and were giving each other high fives on the excellent victory they had won.

Then a few years later America dropped a bomb back. It was just one bomb.

That is the reason I did not want to vote for the Mass Mormon. Let the Dems show the world how the US economy takes off on pure government debt. And once the whole thing stalls let the rest of the world see how the manage without a vibrant US economy. Let the jerks within and the jerks without live according to their own theories for a while. Sooner or later the thought will penetrate their minds: you have to work for a living and no one is going to solve your problems but yourself.

How much longer are the adults of PJM ownership and associates going to allow this very psychologically disturbed identity thief to carry on? If he’s one of your own, does he have access to my private information such as email, ISP and MAC?

ROGER SIMON — HOW LONG WILL YOU ACCEPT AND ALLOW THIS KIND OF PYSCHOLOGICALLY ILL PERSON TO OPERATE ON YOUR SITE? HE HAS OBVIOUSLY ARCHIVED ALL MY POSTING AND EXTRACTS SNIPPETS FROM THE TO CONSTRUCT BOGUS COMMENTS NOT TO MENTION DERANGED COMMENTS ON VARIOUS TOPICS, POSING UNDER MY (ASSUMED) ‘REGISTERED’ PJM IDENTITY?

Geesh! You’re more psychologial disturbed than I first imagined! I will assume that you’re an associate of PJM to get away with your silly game as you seem to be able to. Thats okay, as you only discredit PJM and the many legitimate writers! Enjoy yourself before you get institutionalized or locked up as your illnes progresses.

Yeah too bad the GOP hasn’t got the talent for the last one. We might be in a different place right now. In fact in politics? ALL OF THOSE BEHAVIORS YOU CRITICIZE would be really helpful. Obama has them in spades. As well as the left. And look where they are today. So yeah. Ridicule, sarcasm, ingratitude, arrogance, making someone else pick up the tab? Sounds like a left wing strategy to me. ONE THAT WORKS.

Betina, my governor Rick Perry showed how acting like a jerk can increase your political power if you do it right. The trick is quietly let the other side underestimate you and then, BAM!, hit them with a massive jerk gesture. Rick Perry waited until the last day of the legislative session and then vetoed 79 bills just to show he could. The Fathers Day Massacre put everyone on notice that he would use his veto pen. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/276264/vetoes-rick-perry-katrina-trinko#
Because the Texas legislature only meets every other year, the legislature had to wait 2 years to try to override his vetoes

He proudly makes reference to that grand gesture of jerkiness. While the legislature may not like him, they have no doubt that his veto threats are real.

While you’ve nailed many behaviors of general purpose jerks, the pickup artist experts would not recommend most of these to guys trying to be “jerks” to impress women, at least as you describe them here.

Decades ago, if you were a med school student doing your internship at the local medical center, you could have your pick of women.
These days, being a journalism student, working on your masters is good enough to get you hooked up. But, you might be hooked up with a disease that’ll cut your life in half.
It’s hard to look at the youth of today, and see that they’ll never have much of a life beyond their facebook pages, because their afraid of everything. Their government is educating them in every phobia imaginable, and then some.
And reading some of the comments of supposedly educated individuals, makes me appreciate my age even more.

Glover’s a raging idiot and racist. Nice to know there was never war or slavery in Africa or in pre-Columbian America. Race doesn’t matter when it’s convenient but then it does when it suits men like Glover. The human condition is situational I guess.

Mr Hawkins, women do not like jerks. We like strong, competent men. Have you ever shaken hands with a man whose hands were so soft and smooth that it gave you the creeps? And manicured nails with clear polish just adds to the creep factor. Call me a narrow-minded bigot, but I believe that men should not have soft, pampered hands. Even rich men with sit-down jobs should do manual labor with their hands. Even if it’s just gardening, woodworking hobbies, or learning how to fix their own cars or boats. Because here a surprising little secret for you: women are turned on by men with hard, calloused hands. In a woman’s mind, that denotes strength and competence. Warrior’s hands, so to speak. If your hands are soft and smooth, a woman will subconsciously wonder if you’re weak or gay. Or both.

And hate your country because its not perfect, never was perfect, and never will be perfect as nothing on earth can be perfect. Call everyone racist because you can’t read or write nor speak properly, but you dropped out of high school, sit out on the porch all day long and make babies with five different women. Get that really big chip on your shoulder. And play the knock out game. You know for fun & games its really, really cool to beat up unknown people. And always scream racist, homophobe, or xenophobe. Take no responsbility for yourself, but always blame whitey. Why because the community organizer (actually a communist agitator) trains you to do so.

WTF? PattyMor, I lost your train of thought after the very first sentence. You really need to learn how to articulate. It doesn’t matter if you dropped out of high school. There’s a whole college education at your local library, and it’s free.

I’ll tell you what being a jerk is because I knew one for 30 years before I realized he was one. Him and his wife hit the lotto jackpot big two years ago for over $90M. Before Jan. 2010 we would visit – regularly play golf together – drink – and have BS sessions on a regular basis. Family get togethers where both families mingle and have a good time. Now? Nothing. That is the height of being a jerk. All I ever expected from him and his wife after they hit it big was their continuing friendship – I wonder what his ‘new’ friends expect from him? I wasn’t the only one who felt like they were in fear of being hit up for money every time I saw them. Shame on them! They should have known better but now its too late – the well has been poisoned. Crap on me enough and I get the hint! It is unfortunate but they’ve turned their back on all their old friends. I guess money is it’s own reward. Who needs real friends?

The last time I was at their home it was an ‘invite’ to the entire golf community of which I’m a part. There were people there that would have nothing to do with them prior to that jackpot. They would not have been given the time of day from those snub artists. Now? BFF’s. At least I know where I stand now. Too bad that wasn’t made clear 30 years ago eh?

And if you’re reading this Jim – you know who you are! And who I am. And if you want to hear more just ask me – to my face.

One has to appreciate the finer points of jerks. Jerks who cannot control their jerkiness pay the price. Nobody puts up with them. Of course even a poor jerk might find an individual masochist willing to indulge him. Female jerks can get away with it if they’re real cute and purty…for a while.

Highly-placed jerks are very careful about whom they victimize. They never, ever put a foot wrong with people who can hurt them and they never let the level of their jerkiness rise above the level of what their power and position allow them to get away with.

The entertainment industry and politics are famous for jerks. A classic example would be Sean Penn. Early in his career he was considered a “sweet kid” then in the late eighties when he got big he turned into an obnoxious, drunken brawler. It didn’t take too long before he became a national laughing-stock. He finally had to do a stint in the L.A. county jail and Lord only knows what professional opportunities he blew. He apparently learned his lesson and straightened out (politics aside, of course). He is now considered a respected actor and director. Showbiz history is full of stars who turned into divas as soon as they had enough juice.

Remember the “Queen of Nice”? Well, eventually Rosie took HER mask off. Her show tanked as a result. She hardly wound up on the street as a result but I feel for the poor schmucks who worked on her show.

Same deal with pollyticks. No need to name names here. The list is long with heavy-hitters notorious for backstage misbehavior who lost their careers or saw them attenuated because they thought the rules no longer applied to them. Of course, there are a handful who DID get away with murder but even then, those who would emulate them tend to forget just how close-run things got.

Luke 3:11 John The Baptist says: “If you have two coats give one away.”
“The more basic death has to be a death to the Reaganite creed on whose coattails the religious right rose to power. Christians have the opportunity to construct a genuinely evangelical public philosophy, a public philosophy and practice that is not an ill-fitting addendum to the gospel but arises from the gospel.

What might this look like?

Economically, we need to uncouple Christian economic values from Reaganism. Free trade and free markets are goods, but they aren’t the only goods. Capitalism does produce injustices and inequities. It does have its cultural contradictions, and Christians won’t have a fully Christian public philosophy until we have reckoned with the inner tensions between advocacy of the market and, say, support for traditional families.”
Peter Leithart

John the Baptist had the eyes to see how Heaven comes down to the earth.”The Kingdom of God is near”
Jesus after open the door to the river of the Kingdom of heaven. He say: “If someone demands your outer coat give him your underwear as well”
The strong holds of the Demons must flee with such a turning the world upside down and heaven comes down to the earth. Because THE ETERNAL God already considers the human being standing before you in heaven. Thus what great power in the hands of the spiritual warrior to make the demons flee by such sacrifice and the army of angels come and slaughter the fleeing demons destroying their strong holds yet the war is not over
The spiritual warrior human being gains so much power God may use him as God use the great angels to slaughter the demons as warrior is free from sin. and two swords in his hand he leaps into the secret hide outs of the demons and great fear breaks out among the demons as they get no rest
However demons have many many tricks in their black bag and as you become like Samson you will get to see the great great beauty of Deliah and know first hand why Samson lost
However, God demands Great spiritual warrior tame Deliah as well. This is why it is wise to to leap into places angels fear to tread because God may expect more from you than even the great mighty angels
Take your time keep blindness by your side sleep sleep sleep until God calls you and then trains you to bring heaven down to earth

“Reaganism” was not about “capitalist greed” but freedom. Charity was greater in the Reagan years than today in this Obama era. The greedy bastards who go real rich during that era, btw, Buffet, Gates, Jobs, were Democrats.

And just try to keep in mind, if you have enough room left in there, that John’s advice is to INDIVIDUALS as to what to do with their OWN resources. Not as a mandate for government or charity advocates to lobby government to disburse other people’s money.

Charity is not charity if it is forced. Charity withers and dies under socialist systems. The spirit becomes “I gave at the office (with my taxes)”.

Gotta argue on the sarcasm. Having a good command of sarcasm is the mental equivalent of being able to bench 400 pounds. I’ve found that the people who most dislike it are the idiots who make a lot statements for which they have no intelligent arguments.

Some people overuse or misuse sarcasm, but then the best response is to hit them back with wittier sarcasm. It is both offensive and defensive. No, sarcasm is a wonderful thing. And if you’re a person who thinks that sarcasm is mean and gets offended by it, perhaps you should reflect upon why you are receiving it. Just maybe you really are saying stupid things.